Monday, July 30, 2012

Harvest Monday, July 30th, 2012

There was one normal basket harvest, but most were different this week. There are two things of note here. The first tomatoes were picked. I can't eat them (I can't eat any nightshade plant) but my townhouse mates enjoyed them. The second are my dried beans. Those didn't get into the tally. I'll weigh each variety once it is finished producing and once I take them out of their pods.

The corn harvest was my favorite. I did get two really weird ears. The husk didn't quite cover them and they weren't pollinated well. They still tasted fine though. Not very sweet, but very corny.

I've been complaining that I haven't gotten any zucchini. Well I did, but it was hiding under dying leaves. Once it got big enough to peek out I saw it. It will make some zucchini bread and some casserole.

It was time for my biweekly harvest this week. I kept about a pound for my own use and this time my townhouse mates took the rest to freeze. The harvest chard harvest peaked a month ago and has been going down about two pounds per harvest since. I'm guessing I ought to side dress them if I keep picking them. So far they have produced about 35lbs this year in about 11 sqft of space. And half of that space is shaded by the broccoli that I was going to rip out earlier but haven't. Chard is such an amazing producer and such a powerhouse of nutrition too.

The garlic had cured so I cleaned it up and put it in mesh bags in the basement. This year I got 8.9lbs of garlic. Last year it was 6 lbs. I did give more space to it this year though. The bulbs this year are better than last year. Last year I had a lot of rot in my bulbs, but I didn't get any this year. In general I got a lot of rotting diseases from all my plants last year with my new soil. But this year things seem to be in balance more.

The first of the mustards was harvested and winnowed out. I got just over half a pound of mustard seed. I want to make some homemade mustard later this year. I've never done it before.

Alliums 8.91 lbs

Beans 0.47 lbs

Broccoli 0.06 lbs

Corn 4.24

Cucurbit 7.31 lbs

Greens 5.25 lbs

Herbs 0.71 lbs

Tomato 0.69 lbs

Weekly total 42.76 lbs

Yearly total 298.46 lbs

Tally $391.43

Harvest Monday is a day to show off your harvests, how you are saving your harvest, or how you are using your harvest. If you have a harvest you want to show off, add your name and link to Mr Linky below.

It is amazing how zucchini can hide in plain sight sometimes. That one will make quite a bit of zucchini breads. Glad you were able to enjoy some corn. I know you had some germination issues but they look good. Even the weird one looks like it has some good sized kernels.

So far the squirrels and raccoons haven't found it. My neighbors say they gave up growing corn because of the raccoons. I do grow squash under the corn. Supposedly raccoons don't like the prickly squash plants.

Ha! I found a couple of zucchini this week, too! Crazy how that happens! I am incredibly impressed with your mustard harvest! Mustard in on my list of things to make form scratch eventually, so I look forward to hearing about your adventures with it :-) Happy Monday!

I found winnowing was very easy with mustard. It is a heavy seed that is very smooth. So it doesn't blow away in the wind. I put the pods and stems into a pillow case and stomped on it. Then I shook the seed to the bottom and picked out all the big stuff off of the top. When I got to the seed, I winnowed in the wind and with my breath going from one container to another. Other seed is a lot harder. I can never get dill seed totally clean. And coriander is harder too.

What an impressive harvest! Your garlic looks beautiful and so does the chard! Chard is usually my super producer, but this year it's fighting disease and looking pretty poorly. I'm also very intrigued by your mustard harvest. What a great idea to grow!

Oh, how nice it sounds with Your own corn! Must by new seeds for next year, love it! Your garlic looks fantastic! Must remember my own! And why didn´t I sow mustard-seeds, must do that as well next Year! Thanks for hosting and inspiring us all! :) Mia

Linking for the first time! Your harvest looks so beautiful as always. I have been following your blog for quite some time, and have been learning SO much. Thank you for the wonderful blog and hosting Harvest Monday!

Thank you for posting all about your harvest. That is a lot of money saved! Your rosemary looks so pretty even tho I am not real fond of it! So you make mustard from the seed you grow. That is interesting. I hope you will post some pictures of the finished product. Great harvest again. Nancy

Thanks for hosting Daphne. In the few weeks I have participated I have been much more productive in the garden. Seeing everyone's harvest is a big encouragement. Your harvest this week is amazing, as always!

I love your rosemary! Grew them last year from seed, but unfortunately never used them. This year after repeated attempts, seed did not germinate(: Since you have chopped off the stalks, how will you braid your garlic? Do they store well if the stalks are chopped off? if so, for how long?

All my garlic is hardneck garlic so I can't braid it anyway. And yes it stores just fine with the stalks chopped off. Garlic varies depending upon variety. I still have good garlic from last year's harvest so it lasts 12 months. This one is German Extra Hardy.

Great harvest but I especially like the mustard seed. I use a lot of it and it is very expensive. Dumb question do you start it from seed and where do you get them. Not at all familiar with growing it at all.

I just sowed it directly in the garden in spring. I got the seed from my spice bottles. I did a germination test first though just to make sure they weren't too old. I haven't seen a lot of catalogs carrying mustard for seed. Usually it is mustard for eating.

Yikes, a three pound zucchini! I haven't had any get overgrown on me yet, but if one does I'll give it to the chickens. I can't wait to see how your mustard comes out. You had some really beautiful harvests, even the weird corn.

My garden is on the side of my house. I live in an urban area. Our townhouse has 9000 sqft of lot which is shared by the two townhouses. So it is a larger lot than most have around here, but still it isn't big. The garden takes up one side of the house and part of the back yard. The rest of the yard is landscaped with a mix of edible fruit and ornamentals. I have about 570 sqft of raised bed that is crammed really tight. The paths are very narrow, only 19" wide to get that much in.

I swear zucchini get's that big almost overnight. Been working hard to keep up with the production from my two plants, they have been living up to the zucchini reputation. Your garlic looks really good and the mustard seed is a fun harvest - something I have never tried to grow.

Do you have a particular blog post where you talk about your break-up with the nightshade family, or did all this unfold over time? I'm violently allergic to hot peppers, and to tomato plants and would like to read about other gardeners' experiences.

I don't think I do. I found out I was sensitive to nightshades last August. Well I thought I was just poisoned by them. That is what my allergist thought. I was having massive issues including not being able to breath. But he said it wasn't an allergy but solanine poisoning. I went off of them and a lot of problems I've had all my life went away - well after about eight months it takes a long time to get that stuff out of your system. It has a long half life in your body and hides out in things like your bones. If I eat any little bit they will come back for a couple of weeks. So I'm obviously sensitive to them. I find it very sad since I so love chili peppers and who doesn't love tomatoes and potatoes? All my cooking included them. I had to totally change what I ate. It has been a long slow process trying to get recipes that I love and my husband loves without them.

I was laughing about your zucchini. I too have a zucchini plant that hasn't produced yet, or so I thought. Went back to the garden and checked and found the 2 pound baseball bat hidden on the ground under the foliage. You still have the record.

About Me

I've been gardening for almost three decades now, ever since my husband and I bought our first house. Every garden has been different. The first was small and the soil was almost pure sand. The second was larger and I had heavy clay. The third and current one which is just outside of Boston, is by far the largest even though the lot is by far the smallest. Since we bought the house new, we designed the landscaping ourselves, and the soil we added was fairly good. My challenge here is the location. We are so close to our neighbors that their houses can shade the garden.